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Review: PS of Sweden 3-point breastplate

I found this breastplate way back in perhaps September/October of 2016. Amber doesn’t have an issue with saddles slipping, but I wanted something that would help keep the saddle in place just in case we had those few long-shot fences. Plus, I just loved the way the whole “eventer set-up” looked, so yup that means I need a breastplate. Le sigh. Yeah, look at me – planning waaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of time.

As I was looking for breastplates I kept seeing the 5-points. They just seemed like a lot going on, especially since I didn’t really need much. But I really liked how they had an attachment long enough that could connect to the billets of the saddle. This was the reason I wasn’t overly fond of the traditional 3-point breastplate: those attached to the Ds of the saddle but with the potential to pull the saddle onto the withers. Plus, I’m not a fan of the whole sides being elastic and navy/white elastic at that. Which is odd considering I like to match so much, but I think that was probably a little too much matching for me… Weird, I know. So I tried to look for a mix of the two, and I really liked the look of bridge breastplates. After searching for a few days, I somehow just stumbled upon this one. It was the only one in a price point that I liked (and let’s be real, could justify buying since I didn’t need it), and it came in brown!

Photo from PS website

I bought mine for around $145 plus shipping. I was so nervous because at this time, I had never bought anything outside of the US. I had never even heard of this brand, so I scoured the internet for reviews about them and how everyone liked them. There were only a few reviews out there (and dopey me didn’t see if they were on FB) but all of the reviews painted them in a very good light. So I closed my eyes and pressed purchase.

On a side note, PS of Sweden accepts payment via Paypal. At the time I didn’t have a Paypal either, so I had to create an account just to grab this breastplate. And I’m so glad I did. While it was nerve-wracking at first, PS shipped the breastplate and I got it in two days. I was on air when I opened it. I don’t have any pictures of it when I first got it, but it still looks brand new after having it nearly a year.

So far it’s held up really well, even though I haven’t taken it to shows or anything. IMO how well it’s handling the ever-present dust over here is the real test; Vegas is just so dry and it sucks the life out of your leather. This breastplate though, is doing phenomenal. There is a spot on the bridge attachment of the breastplate that started to lose its stitching after around 3 months with maybe 12 uses, but I think that was my fault. I did clean it with glycerin soap and conditioned with a bit of neatsfoot which, from what I hear and have read, is what you’re not supposed to do to vegetable tanned leather. I didn’t quite read the directions…. Most of the time I read the directions but this time? Yeah…. But I’ve now been cleaning it with PS’s soap and conditioning it with Passier lederbalsam if I have to and it seems to be doing just fine. No other stitching has come loose and it still looks new, so again I think it was my fault.

I also love that the billet strap is nylon. It is very slim so it won’t interfere with your leg at all.

As you saw above, it does come with the running attachment. I currently do not know where mine is, so I borrowed this photo from PS’s website. But, if for whatever strange reason I’ll need to one day use the running attachment, this is my kind of attachment. The rings CLIP. That’s right. It’s a CLIP. This means no taking apart your reins to thread them through the running attachment. You just clip and unclip. I literally timed it. It takes about 6 seconds. You will need to use their rein stops since the clips are a bit big, but even those are snap on! So much easy on/off with this company; I love it.

From PS website

They threw in an extra, a clip for me to attach to the girth strap, which was great. Again, easy on/off. Even the bridge attachment has a buckle so you don’t have to take off the cross ties and put it over your horse’s head. It fits Amber well, and I really just use it at this time to look pretty. I mean, why not? It makes me happy.

Yup, this wild thang needs the running attachment…..Sorry the quality isn’t good; this one is from a video

For me, this breastplate is perfect. It’s well made, slim, and as a bonus – it matches all my other chocolate things! No seriously. The hunter in me cringes if all the leather isn’t exactly the same shade or within 2-3 shades of each other. I don’t know why but it’s like nails on a chalkboard to my eyes. I know, another thing to add to the weird folder. But, regardless of that, this breastplate gets 5 stars from me.